【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, August 15, 2022】China responded to Pelosi’s Aug. 2 visit by sending missiles, warships and warplanes into the seas and skies around Taiwan for several days afterward. The Chinese government objects to Taiwan having any official contact with foreign governments, particularly with a high-ranking congressional leader like Pelosi.(Photo image credit: Reuters)

Just 12 days after Pelosi’s visit, a delegation of American lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Sunday. The five-member delegation, led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, will meet President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials, as well as members of the private sector, to discuss shared interests including reducing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and investments in semiconductors.

A Taiwanese broadcaster showed video of a U.S. government plane landing about 7 p.m. Sunday at Songshan Airport in Taipei, the Taiwanese capital. Four members of the delegation were on the plane.

Markey met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier Sunday in South Korea before arriving in Taiwan on a separate flight at Taoyuan International Airport, which also serves Taipei. Markey, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia, Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Subcommittee, and members of the delegation will reaffirm the United States’ support for Taiwan.

The other members of the delegation are Republican Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, a delegate from American Samoa, and Democratic House members John Garamendi and Alan Lowenthal from California and Don Beyer from Virginia.

A senior White House official on Asia policy said late last week that China had used Pelosi’s visit as a pretext to launch an intensified pressure campaign against Taiwan, jeopardizing peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region.

China’s ruling Communist Party has long said that it favors Taiwan joining China peacefully but that it will not rule out force if necessary.

Campbell, speaking on Friday, said the U.S. is developing a roadmap for trade talks with Taiwan that he said the U.S. intends to announce in the coming days.

(Source: AP)

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Dining with Asian Food and Wine

Dining with Asian Food and Wine: August OBON FESTIVAL in Japan

       By

Ronald Jan, M. D.

The month of August (7^th Lunar month) marks Japan’s famous Obon Festival. Of Buddhist origin this festival honors the deceased ancestors and is celebrated in August with food and a special Obon Dance. The food originally followed Buddhist traditions of being primarily vegetarian but over the years the festival has adopted a variety of foods. In Sacramento at his restaurant, Kru’s owner and chef, Billy Ngo, features many traditional and contemporary Japanese dishes suitable for the Obon Festival.

[Uni Panna Cotta. Photo Courtesy of Ronald Jan, M.D.]

One such contemporary dish is Uni Panna Cotta. Here the Chef and owner of Kru, Billy Ngo, has taken a traditional Italian custard-like dessert (Panna Cotta) and by blending bits of cooked SEA URCHIN with cream to form a creamy custard. It yields a briny yet creamy appetizer topped with bits of raw SEA URCHIN.

[Uni Panna Cotta with bread & tempura. Photo Courtesy of Ronald Jan, M.D.]

 This is then served with thin slices of bread baked in his restaurant then grilled to make a crisp, biscotti-like accompaniment and tempura covered SEAWEED.

As with many sea foods this dish would pair well with many white wines especially from port cities sufficiently aromatic with enough acid to cut through the creaminess of the Panna Cotta. Examples of such wines are Spain’s Albarino or Treixidura, France’s Muscadet Sevre et Maine (aka Melon de Bourgogne), and Greece’s Assyrtiko.

Spain’s Albarino from Rias Baixas

[Photo Courtesy of Ronald Jan, M.D.]

France’s Muscadet Sevre et Maine (aka Melon de Bourgogne) from Loire Valley

[Photo Courtesy of Ronald Jan, M.D.]

Greece’s Assyrtiko from Island of Santorini

[Photo Courtesy of Ronald Jan, M.D.]

or a sparkling wine such as Lusso Della Terra’s Barbera Petillant Naturel (aka “Pet-Nat”) in Amador County, California.

Lusso Della Terra’s Barbera Petillant (aka “Pet-Nat”)

[Photo Courtesy of Ronald Jan, M.D.]

This “Pet-Nat” has sufficient acid from both the Barbera grape and the Petillant Naturel Process. The berry flavors of raspberries and red cherries will balance the briny flavors of Uni (Sea Urchin) and the acid will cut through and contrast the creamy texture of the Panna Cotta.

[Obon Dancers. Photo from www.bestofwhere.com]

The Obon Festival is highlighted by a special Obon Dance with dancers in traditional Kimonos.  Whether you dance or simply enjoy the serenity and beauty of the dance, you will enjoy the Uni Panna Cotta and Lusso Della Terra’s Barbera Pet-Nat sparkling wine.

About the author: Dr. Ronald G. Jan who specializes in Vascular Surgery is a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of California at Davis School of Medicine. As a hobby, he holds WSET level 3 certification in wines and has been writing and publishing wine commentaries attracting lots of readers.

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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, August 14, 2022】The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its Covid-19 guidance on Thursday because, the agency says, the virus presents a lower risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death than it did at the start of 2020. (COVID Image from CDC)

Greta Massetti, a CDC epidemiologist said, in a statement, “This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives”.

If you’re not up-to-date with your vaccines and have been exposed to Covid, you no longer need to quarantine. Instead, it’s recommended that you mask for 10 days and get tested on Day Five.

Assuming you do test positive for Covid, here are the CDC’s updated guidelines:

• If you’ve tested positive and have a healthy immune system, regardless of vaccination status, you should isolate for five days. Isolation can be ended at Day Six if you no longer have symptoms or have not had a fever for 24 hours and your symptoms have improved.
• Once isolation has ended, the agency recommends you wear a high-quality maskthrough Day 10. If you test negative on two rapid antigen tests, though, you can stop wearing your mask sooner.
• Until Day 11 at least, you should refrain from visiting or being around people who are more likely to have severe outcomes from Covid, including the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Those with weakened immune systems or people who were hospitalized before with Covid are encouraged to isolate for 10 days and consult with their doctor before ending isolation. Likewise if you are experiencing shortness of breath due to the virus, you’re recommended to isolate for 10 days.

This means students can now stay in the classroom this fall even if they’ve been exposed to Covid, the CDC said on Wednesday. It’s still recommended that students and school staff mask for 10 days and test on Day Five in the case of an exposure.

The push for this decision may come from a new statistic: 95% of the U.S. population has some level of immunity against Covid, according to Massetti.

“High levels of population immunity due to vaccination and previous infection and the many available tools to protect the general population and protect people at higher risk allow us to focus on protecting people from serious illness from Covid,” she said during a call with reporters on Thursday.

(Source: CNBCmakeit)

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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, August 12, 2022】The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against the Republican former president, saying the committee's request was justified as part of its legislative work. The Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee said it expects to receive the tax records immediately.(Mar-a- Largo Image from Business Insider)

The court found that the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee committee's request did not violate separation of powers principles under the U.S. Constitution and that the decision by President Joe Biden's administration to provide Trump's tax returns to Congress did not infringe upon Trump's free speech rights.

The decision could lead to Trump's financial dealings being revealed before the next presidential election. Trump has not announced whether he will run again for president in 2024.

The tax ruling came a day after Trump said FBI agents raided his Florida estate and accessed his safe in what his son said was part of an investigation into the former president's removal of official records from the White House. 

The Ways and Means Committee sued in 2019, during Trump's presidency, to force disclosure of the tax returns. The dispute has lingered since Trump left office in January 2021.

The D.C. Circuit rejected arguments by Trump's lawyers that the records should be withheld because the panel's motives for seeking them were political. Steven Mnuchin, the Trump-appointed treasury secretary at the time, refused to honor the committee's document request.

"When the committee makes a request that is within its authority to make, i.e., within Congress's investigative power, the (treasury) secretary does not have a choice as to whether to provide the information," the court said.

A district judge in December 2021 dismissed Trump's bid to keep his tax returns from the House panel, ruling that the legislative interest of Congress outweighed any deference he should receive as a former president.

Trump was the first president in four decades not to release his tax returns, records that would reveal details of his wealth and the activities of his family company, the Trump Organization.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Access to the former president's tax returns is crucial to upholding the public interest, our national security and our democracy."

(Source: Reuters.com)

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